Like other parts of California, San Joaquin County is facing a growing problem with marijuana cultivation, local law enforcement officials said.

Since 2010, authorities have documented a 62 percent increase in marijuana plant confiscations in the county and a staggering 500 percent increase in processed marijuana seizures, said Capt. Chris Pehl, commander of the San Joaquin County Metro Narcotics Task Force. In 2012, authorities seized more than 95,000 marijuana plants in San Joaquin County, Pehl said.

"There could be a number of different reasons why we're seeing the increase," Pehl said. "Some of the grows that we're coming across are marked as medicinal use, but it appears that it's primarily for profit. One of the challenges for us is that there's so much out there. I believe that's the risk the grower takes, that he or she will put out a large number of plants hoping that we can only eradicate a certain number of them, and with the manpower we have, that's becoming quite a challenge."

The San Joaquin County Metro Narcotics Task Force consists of 16 agents, Pehl said. Agencies with officers assigned to the task force include the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County Probation Department, the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations.

Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department, said the task force helps law enforcement officials pursue drug traffickers who often operate across jurisdictional lines.

"The Stockton Police Department has personnel assigned to the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force to assist the task force with well-coordinated narcotics investigations and enforcement," Silva said. "We realize narcotics traffickers do not stay in just one location as they travel and conduct illicit business throughout multiple law enforcement jurisdictions. That's why this task force has the responsibility to apprehend narcotics offenders on a countywide level, including those responsible for major marijuana growing operations."

Pehl said San Joaquin County has experienced huge increases in both indoor and outdoor grows. The task force uncovered a massive marijuana growing operation July 23 in French Camp consisting of 16,000 plants with an estimated street value of $32 million. The Tracy Police Department has served search warrants at 15 locations identified as residential marijuana grows since the beginning of June, authorities said.

Indoor growers have developed more sophisticated techniques, often stealing electricity to power hydroponic growing operations in otherwise vacant homes, Pehl said. Outdoor growers have become better at concealing their operations, Pehl said.

"I think they're doing a better job of securing their grows," Pehl said. "We've seen grows in cornfields. We've seen grows in orchards. We've also seen grows in vineyards. And not only are they becoming more sophisticated, they're becoming more bold. Grows that used to be in secluded portions of the county are now closer to the larger metropolitan areas, only secreted by different types of vegetation."

Narcotics agents still use traditional investigative techniques to uncover illegal marijuana growing operations, but they also have used community outreach to educate farmers and other residents, Pehl said.

"One of the things we've been doing is reaching out to the farmers more, telling them what to look for, how to communicate with their staff out in the fields and what to do when they find indications of a marijuana grow," Pehl said. "As for the indoor growing operations, we're always educating the public, telling people what signs they can look for, such as homes that appear to be vacant and those where somebody will come by every so often and seem like they're just moving a lot of material."

Pehl said the growing prevalence of marijuana cultivation in San Joaquin County has limited the task force's ability to investigate other forms of drug trafficking.

"We investigate all mid- to large-level narcotics investigations, including marijuana," Pehl said. "Marijuana, because it is very labor intensive when it comes to eradication, takes a lot of investigation, and we have to determine the legality of the grows on a case-by-case basis. It is taking up a large portion of our time, so it is having a big impact on what the task force is able to do."